Auditory Processing Abilities Test (APAT)

Main product art for Auditory Processing Abilities Test (APAT).
Publisher: ATP
Inline, auxiliary image for Auditory Processing Abilities Test (APAT)
Purchase Options
Item
APAT Complete Test Kit
8353-6P
$140.00
Manual, 25 Test booklets, 25 Summary Sheets
Components (Sold Separately)
APAT Manual
8354-4
$60.00
25 Test Booklets
8355-2
$55.00
25 Summary Sheets
8356-0
$25.00

Author(s): Deborah Ross Swain, EdD / Nancy Long, PhD

  • Auditory Processing
  • Individual Administration
  • Ages 5 through 12
  • Norm–Referenced
  • Testing/Scoring Time: 45 minutes
  • Qualification Level B

  • Description

    The APAT is a nationally standardized, norm-referenced auditory processing battery for use with children ages 5-0 through 12-11. It may be used for the following purposes: the identification of children who are at risk or who may be experiencing Auditory Processing Disorder (APD); to determine a child's specific strengths and weaknesses among a number of auditory processing skills; document a child's improvement in auditory processing skill abilities as a result of therapeutic interventions. The APAT was developed using a model based on a hierarchy of auditory processing skills that are basic to listening and processing spoken language. These skills range from sensation to memory to cohesion.

    The APAT is comprised of 10 subtests that quantify a child's performance in various areas of auditory processing:

  • Phonemic Awareness
  • Word Sequences
  • Semantic Relationships
  • Sentence Memory
  • Cued Recall
  • Content Memory
  • Complex Sentences
  • Sentence Absurdities
  • Following Directions
  • Passage Comprehension

    The APAT provides composite index scores as well as individual subtest scores: Global Index reflecting overall auditory processing efficiency, Linguistic Processing Index, and Auditory Memory Index. Optional analyses allow further examination of Linguistic Processing tasks (yielding indices for discrimination, sequencing, and cohesion) and Memory tasks (yielding indices for immediate recall, delayed recall, sequential recall, and cued recall).

    The battery is designed primarily to be used by speech-language pathologists but may also be used by other professionals such as learning disabilitities specialists, psychologists, and resource specialists.

    Reliability and Validity

    Internal consistency measures are relatively high: across all ages, Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha for subtest items ranges from 0.70 to 0.89; Spearman-Brown Correlations range from 0.75 to 0.93. Subtest SEMs are relatively low, ranging from 0.79 to 1.51 across all ages. Criterion-related validity coefficients are moderately high; the correlation between subtest scores from APAT Phonemic Awareness and LAC-II is 0.54, while the correlation between percentile ranking of APAT Total and LAC Total is 0.53. (Because the LAC provides only composite scores that assess a number of skills and APAT individual subtest scores reflect discrete skills, correlations are lower than if one were comparing two discrete sets of similar skills.)

    Administration and Scoring

    The APAT is individually administered and can be completed and scored in less than 45 minutes. It yields scaled scores and percentile ranks for subtests and standard scores and percentile ranks for the composites. Age equivalents are also available for all areas assessed.
  • See Also...

    Normed through Geriatrics! Assesses how well persons ages 2 years 0 months to over 80 years can name the objects, actions, or concepts presented in full-color pictures.

    The MAPA includes eight different subtests in the three skill areas (monaural, temporal, and binaural) that the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) recommends for auditory processing assessment.

    The TAPS provides a way to identify particular language processes that an individual may be having difficulties with. The TAPS-4 features new subtests along with updates to subtests from the TAPS-3.

    The Listening Inventory (TLI) is an informal child behavioral observation completed by parents and/or teachers. TLI is a first step to quantify behaviors to see if a child might need evaluation for auditory disorders. It can provide a starting point for discussions with the speech-language professional prior to formal evaluation of a child.

    The TAPS-3 Spanish-Bilingual measures what a person does with what is heard. Nine subtests provide information about a child's auditory abilities in three areas: Basic Auditory Skills, Auditory Memory, and Auditory Cohesion. Normed on Spanish-speaking children.

    The CTOPP-2 assesses reading-related phonological processing skills. The test has been renormed on a nationally stratified sample of 1,900 individuals, and the age range extended downward by adding items to eliminate floor effects. The ceiling has also been extended.